Home Medicines and Treatments

[makam]

I normally do not go to a doctor if I get cold, sore throat or
stomach ache. Same is the case for body ache as the present day
doctors prescribe medicines which are quite expensive and also
contains antibiotic elements which in the long rum give more harm than
good.

When we as children got stomach ache our mother will make a Kashayam
( a black liquid which contained crushed ginger's and Thulasi's)
with little sugar and forced us to swallow it. Thulasi is a medicinal
plant of India and has many medicinal properties and cures many
ailments. Its scientific name is ‘OCIMUM TENUIFLORUM’. The extract of
this plant can be used cure common cold, head and stomach ache, an
antidote for poison, inflammations, etc. The plant’s smoke can be used
to repel mosquitoes and other insects.

She also used to give us castor oil for constipation. It is a
difficult and horrible experience to swallow the castor oil as its
taste and smell is highly nauseating. She would catch our nose and
pour a spoon full oil into the mouth and close the mouth tight and we
will have no other alternative other than swallow that. Castor oil can
also be used for eye ailments when in a very pure form for eye
irritation, pain etc.

Garlic is used to treat throat infection, stomach disorders along with
ginger. When one is having sore throat and cough a simple medicine
with garlic, pepper and turmeric powder will solve it. Boil one cup of
milk with one spoon of turmeric powder, two crushed leaves of garlic
and about ten numbers of pepper crushed. Add little sugar. Heat l this
milk till it boils. Remove from fire and filter and drink when form.
Drink this milk three times a day for three days. Your cough and sore
throat would have completely disappeared.

For gas problems and heart burn you can use garlic raw or dried. Take
a small piece of ginger, scrape the skin and wash. Either you can
crush and take juice or eat it just like that along with little sugar.
Within minutes you will get relief with some belching. The same
treatment is good for nausea. You could use powdered dry ginger also
in the same way with little sugar for the same ailments.

For arthritis we could heat some oil and when warm apply it on the
affected or painful areas and massage. Wait for half an hour and then
wash that area with soap and hot water. If you continue for fifteen
days the pain will vanish and will appear again after about six months.
( In Ayurvedha medicines there are two oils available for Arthritis
called KOttan Chukkathi Thailam and Pinda Thailam in Malayalam. These
two oils could be mixed heated and applied on the affected part and
massaged as explained above.)

For diarrhea my mother would give dry ginger powder mixed with sugar
and asked us to eat. It will stop diarrhea immediately.

Like this there is are so many home made medicines available for many
of the ailments in home itself. In all the homes there will be home
grown medicines in the garden which could be plucked anytime and
used.

In addition to the above medicines my mother used to make us take bath
with gingili oil applied through out the body. She used to applied the
warm oil and massage it on our body and ask us to sit in the sun for
about half an hour. Then she would bathe us with ‘Shikakai’ powder
( akind of powder made from the seeds of a tree used for generations
for bathing). This powder will remove all the oil and the bath with
hot water will be highly relaxing except for the shikakai powder going
into the eyes will give burning sensation. Normally this bath would be
on a Saturday as that day would be a holiday for us.

As the modern medicines became more pronounced people stopped them
and went for allopathic doctors even for minor ailments and the life
of nature slowly departed and many of the plants were gone and could
not be traced.

The following tables give the constituent of garlic, ginger , garlic
and castor.

Garlic

For 100 grams

Vitamin B6 : 96%
the rhizome of the perennial plant Zingiber officinale in the family
Zingiberaceae.
Ani itional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 150 kcal 620 kJ
Carbohydrates
33.06 g
- Sugars 1.00g
- Dietary fiber 2.1 g

Fat
0.5 g
Protein
6.36 g
- β-carotene 5 μg
0%
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.2 mg
15%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.11 mg
7%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.7 mg
5%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.596 mg
12%
Vitamin B6 1.235 mg
95%
Folate (Vit. B9) 3 μg
1%
Vitamin C 31.2 mg
52%
Calcium 181 mg
18%
Iron 1.7 mg
14%
Magnesium 25 mg
7%
Phosphorus 153 mg
22%
Potassium 401 mg
9%
Sodium 17 mg
1%
Zinc 1.16 mg
12%
Manganese 1.672 mg

selenium 14.2 mcg

Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Sorce: USDA Nutrient databaseGinger root, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 20 kcal 80 kJ
Carbohydrates
17.77g
- Sugars 1.7 g
- Dietary fiber 2 g

Fat
0.75 g
Protein
1.82 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.025 mg
2%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.034 mg
2%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.75 mg
5%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.203 mg
4%
Vitamin B6 0.16 mg
12%
Folate (Vit. B9) 11 μg
3%
Vitamin C 5 mg
8%
Calcium 16 mg
2%
Iron 0.6 mg
5%
Magnesium 43 mg
12%
Phosphorus 34 mg
5%
Potassium 415 mg
9%
Zinc 0.34 mg
3%

Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database


Acid name Average Percentage Range Ricinoleic acid 85 to 95% Oleic
acid 6 to 2% Linoleic acid 5 to 1% Linolenic acid 1 to 0.5% Stearic
acid 1 to 0.5% Palmitic acid 1 to 0.5% Dihydroxystearic acid 0.5 to
0.3% Others 0.5 to 0.2%


Acid name Average Percentage Range Ricinoleic acid 85 to 95% Oleic
acid 6 to 2% Linoleic acid 5 to 1% Linolenic acid 1 to 0.5% Stearic
acid 1 to 0.5% Palmitic acid 1 to 0.5% Dihydroxystearic acid 0.5 to
0.3% Others 0.5 to 0.2%